Ala Moana Bowls Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it’s Rusty here. Let’s be real about the next couple of weeks at Ala Moana Bowls. It’s a tough one to call a classic. We’ve got a solid run of trade winds from the ENE that are just going to keep things rough and bumpy. The swell direction is all wrong for this spot, so we're in for a battle.

The water is 81°, which is normal for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

Right now, starting Wednesday the 5th, it's small and weak. We're talking 1ft to 4ft of short-period ENE windswell. The energy is weak, with readings between 165 and 506. The wind is cross-off but it's those trades, so it just doesn't have any push or shape. Expect a frustrating, sectiony mess through the weekend. The 7th and 8th bring a little more swell from the SSW, but it's still small and the wind chops it up immediately.

The first real glimmer of hope shows up on the 12th and 13th. A proper S swell arrives with a longer period of 16-18 seconds, and the energy jumps to a strong 1036 on the morning of the 13th. This is real groundswell with some punch. However, the trades are still blowing 30-35 km/h, making it cross-off and messy. The swell height is only around 4ft, but the conditions will likely be poor. As this fades, it's back to the same old windswell.

The period from the 14th to the 17th is the main event, but for all the wrong reasons. The trades are cranking and the swell comes up, but it's all that short-period ENE windswell at 7ft to 8ft, with a period of just 8 seconds. That's not the good stuff, that's the choppy, bumpy, blown-out stuff. The energy readings are strong, hitting 937 on the 14th, but it's all junk. With that wind, this looks way more interesting for kitesurfing than for paddling out. It's not a clean wave.

Honestly, there isn't one day in this entire 16-day forecast that I'd tell you to drop everything for. The 12th and 13th are the best on offer, with that longer-period southerly groundswell and the energy behind it. But the wind is the deal-breaker. If it were light or offshore, that S swell would be firing at Bowls, but with these trades, it's just going to be messy. That long period might also make it a bit walled, but it's still the closest thing to a good wave we've got.

The second week, from the 17th onward, is more of the same. The trades hold, and the windswell stays in the 5ft to 7ft range with a short period. The energy stays moderate, but the quality is poor. By the 20th, we see a new SSW pulse, but it's small at only 2ft, and it won't save the day.

Keep your expectations low and your board close. It's a wait-for-the-wind-to-drop kind of forecast. This is a patch where you just have to be patient.

Rusty.

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